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Roughly half of all car dents occur on a parking lot, at least based on our observation. It’s commonplace for clients to bring their cars to our auto body repair shop and complain about the new dent that occurred at the grocery store. In the past, we talked about how to prevent dents from runaway shopping carts. This time around, we’ll discuss parking strategies for avoiding car dents.

Prevent Car Dents By Using These Parking Tips

1. Park Far Away

People have a tendency to look for a parking spot nearest to the store. We recommend the opposite. The faraway spots are usually vacant and will remain so when you return. Sure, you’ll have to walk a few extra paces, but just consider it exercise.

2. Parallel Park

Most drivers avoid parallel parking spots like the plague. That’s understandable given they can be a bit tricky. However, you eliminate the possibility of another car’s being parked next to yours. Granted, there is the chance of getting a dent in the front or rear. Bumpers, though, can generally escape unscratched if they’re hit by a vehicle going below 5 mph.

3. Minimize Exposure to Other Doors

If you had to park beside an SUV or a motorcycle, choose the latter. The same goes between a compact sedan and a full-size pickup. The former is smaller and gives you more clearance space. On the other hand, if you must park next to a large vehicle, then we actually recommend parking closer to it. Yes, this sounds counterintuitive, but less space means less momentum for an opening door to slam into your car with significant impact.

4. Park Next to a Two-Door

One door per side of a car means half the risk. Need we say more?

We’ll Handle an Existing Dent

Contact BodyWorks Auto Rebuild to repair a dent incurred during a trip to the local 7-11 or Walmart. We will work with your insurance partner to make repairs affordable. These parking strategies for avoiding car dents will minimize a blemish to your beautiful auto paint.